The Royal Canadian Mint looks back on 2012 with pride and nostalgia

OTTAWA, Dec. 27, 2012 /CNW/ - As the striking of Canada's last penny on
May 4, 2012 marked the end of an era and the Loonie reached its 25th birthday in June, the Royal Canadian Mint is pleased to have completed
another milestone-filled year. From record collector coin sales and
the launch of a new Silver Canadian Reserves ETR investment product to
the return of Canada's first gold coins and the exploration of digital
currency, the Mint continued to excel and thrive in all aspects of its
business.

Farewell to the Penny
In Economic Action Plan 2012, the Government of Canada announced that it
will phase out the penny from Canada's coinage system. The Royal
Canadian Mint struck Canada's last one-cent circulation coin at its
Winnipeg production facility on May 4, 2012. Building on its
reputation as a leading coin supplier to the world, the Mint is
focusing spare production capacity opened by the change to more
international business. The Mint also took the opportunity to honour
our iconic penny with a selection of limited-edition collectibles; from
a selectively gold-plated silver coin to a finely crafted 1/25th ounce pure gold coin. While certain products rapidly sold-out, penny keepsakes can still be
found at www.mint.ca, in Mint boutiques or at dealers across Canada.

Distribution of the penny to retailers and financial institutions will
end on February 4, 2013. As the denomination remains legal tender and
the coin continues to be used, consumers and businesses can consult guidelines on price rounding for cash transactions in the "LEARN" section of the
Mint's web site. More information will be circulated in the weeks
leading up to the last distribution of Canada'sone-cent circulation
coin.

Numismatics and Collectibles Business Line Results
As it continues to expand its collector coin offering and diversify its
customer base in Canada and abroad, the Mint is delighted to report
excellent revenues and record product sell-outs for its Numismatics and
Collectibles Business Line. By the end of the Third Quarter of 2012,
revenue for the business line was over $107 million, which already
eclipses the previous record of $93 million in annual revenues, set in
2011.

Awards
Widely known for achieving excellence in every aspect of its business,
the Mint is always proud to receive formal recognition from a wide
range of industry peers and stakeholders. Four such awards continued to
bolster our reputation in 2012:

The Coin Competition Award for Packaging for our wooden case with Mint
logo, from 27th Mint Directors Conference in Vienna, Austria; and

The Award of Excellence for Corporate Reporting for small federal Crown
Corporations for the Mint's 2011 annual report, from the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Commemorative Circulation Coin Program
In keeping with its tradition of celebrating Canada's history, culture
and values through coins, the Mint has continued to issue commemorative
circulation coins which millions of Canadians can collect as proud
symbols of our heritage and identity. A two-dollar coin and four
25-cent coins recognizing the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812; a one-dollar coin honouring the 100th playing of the Grey Cup; and the 2012 Lucky Loonie each became permanent reminders of proud moments which captured our
collective imagination in 2012. Over 300,000 of these coins were
exchanged with the public at special events held across Canada.

Canadian Silver Reserves ETR Program
Following the resounding success of our Canadian Gold Reserves
exchange-traded receipts (ETRs) launch in late 2011, the Mint announced
a public offering of a new Canadian Silver Reserves Program, with each ETR offering an investor direct title to physical silver
bullion securely stored at the Mint. With 5,000,000 Silver ETRs now
listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canadian and US dollars under
the symbols "MNS" and MNS.U", this expansion of our ETR program further
demonstrates our reputation as a world-class custodian of precious
metals with the drive to bring precious metal ownership to the market
in creative and innovative ways.

Winnipeg Plating Facility Expansion and R+D Centre of Excellence
After producing coins and blanks for over 70 countries since our
high-speed Winnipeg facility opened in 1976, of which more than 20
billion now feature our industry-leading multi-ply plated steel (MPPS)
technology, we are expanding our facilities to accommodate even more
international business. Opening in June 2013, the expanded Winnipeg
plating facility will raise MPPS blank production capacity by two
billion more pieces. This state-of-the-art complex will also house a
full-time Research & Development Centre of Excellence, where
groundbreaking technologies and manufacturing processes will take shape
for the ongoing benefit of Canadians and coin users world-wide.

A tiny maple leaf pattern, laser-engraved on the dies which strike the
reverse (or tails side) of both the one- and two-dollar coins, cannot
be replicated without the Mint's proprietary technology. The addition
of a shifting "virtual image" and edge-lettering gives our two-dollar
coin a new layer of complexity which translates to incomparable
security. A similar laser security mark is also found on the Mint's 2013-dated 1 oz. 99.99% pure Gold Maple Leaf (GML) bullion coin.

With the help of a technology partner, the Mint has also created an
innovative form of security called Digital Non-Destructive Activation
(DNA), concealed in our ground-breaking circulation and bullion coins.
This process essentially "fingerprints" the surface of each coin to
store a reading of their unique surface structure in a database.
Genuine circulation coins can be individually identified through this
anti-counterfeiting innovation and genuine GML coins can be reconciled
with a known die set.

MintChip™
With an eye trained on the future of currency, the Mint challenged
developers from across North America on April 4, 2012 to develop
applications which would test our MintChip™ digital currency platform and confirm its feasibility in the real
world. We are the only mint in the world to launch an R+D project to
explore an evolution of physical money; where many of the attributes of
cash are enhanced by the benefit of being electronic. The Mint has
working prototypes and holds eight patents pending for this innovative
technology, for which six enterprising developers created exciting
applications demonstrating the power and versatility of MintChip™. The
Mint is now refining its business model and discussing its role in the
market of the future with many stakeholders, including the Government
of Canada.

Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal and War of 1812 Medal
Proud of its role in handcrafting a wide range of medals for the
Canadian Forces and other revered Canadian institutions, the Mint is
always keen to explore new technological horizons with unique projects
such as the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games athlete medals and the Rick Hansen Relay Medal.

In 2012, we were honoured to craft the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal, issued to 60,000 Canadians in conjunction with the 60th anniversary of the reign of Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II. We
were also privileged to produce War of 1812 commemorative medals specially commissioned for the recognition of First Nations and Métis
communities whose brave support of British forces and Canadian militia
were instrumental to the successful defense of Canadian territory
during the War of 1812. These medals were presented, along with
Canadian Forces battle honours, to the descendants of these brave
warriors at an October 2012 ceremony at Rideau Hall.

Canada's first gold coins
The Mint travelled back in time on November 28, 2012, by unveiling a
rare collection of 1912, 1913 and 1914-dated $5 and $10 Canadian gold
coins previously stored at the Bank of Canada for more than 75 years
and kept out of circulation for nearly a century. These treasures of
our past, made of gold from the Klondike and newly discovered Ontario
deposits, were held under the Government of Canada's Exchange Fund
Account (EFA) and are now being liquidated by the Mint to return
meaningful keepsakes to scores of collectors, while allowing the
Government to invest the proceeds in fixed securities typically held in
the EFA. Details of some 30,000 beautiful examples of Canada's first
gold coins now for sale can be found at www.mint.ca/1912gold.

About the Royal Canadian Mint
The Royal Canadian Mint is the Crown Corporation responsible for the
minting and distribution of Canada's circulation coins. An ISO
9001-2008 certified company, the Mint is recognized as one of the
largest and most versatile mints in the world, offering a wide range of
specialized, high quality coinage products and related services on an
international scale. The Mint has also issued exchange-traded receipts
under its Canadian Gold Reserves (TSX: MNT/MNT.U) and Canadian Silver
Reserves (TSX: MNS/MNS.U), which provide holders with direct legal and
beneficial ownership in physical gold and silver bullion held in the
custody of the Mint at its facilities. For more information on the
Mint, its products and services, visit www.mint.ca.